Bowling glove



March 10, 1964 c. J. KUBIK 3,123,832

BOWLING GLOVE Filed Sept. 29, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig./

Fig.3

C/ayfan J. Kubik 24 INVENTOR.

BY nun W 5.

March 10, 1964 c. J. KUBlK 3,123,832

BOWLING GLOVE Filed Sept. 29, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.5

C/ayfon -l. Kubik l2 INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,123,832 BGW LING GLOVE Clayton E. Knhik,Broomfield Heights, Colo. (1596 Irving St., Idaho Falis, Idaho) FiledSept. 29, 1%ti, Ser. No. 59,417 5 Claims. (Cl. 2-161) This inventioncomprises a novel and useful bowling glove and more particularly relatesto a glove specifically adapted for use by bowlers and which will enablethe bowler to obtain a much more effective and secure grip upon thebowling ball.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a bowling glove whichwill enable the bowler to obtain a much more secure grip on a bowlingball, and will greatly facilitate and improve the accuracy of the bowlerby perfecting his control of the ball and lessening hand strain.

A further object of the invention is to provide a bowling glove inaccordance with the preceding object which may be profitably utilizedboth by the novice and by the skilled bowler for the purpose ofimproving his game and score and for correcting certain faults in gripor delivery which are inherent in the technique of many bowlers.

A further object of the invention is to provide a bowling glove whichwill provide a resilient stiffening action upon the back of the hand andknuckles of the bowler thereby insuring a tight, comfortable form fitfree of slippage for each individual bowler.

A further object of the invention is to provide a bowling glove havingtherein an insert either rigid or cushioning in character which ispermanently secured in the palm of the glove and in a position effectiveto give proper support to the ball and which has one face thereof shapedto conform to the contour of the surface of the ball.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a bowling glove whichin addiiton to comfortably fitting the hand of the bowler will enablethe latter to obtain a much more secure grip on the ball and yet willallow complete freedom of movement of the hand and fingers of the bowlerduring the delivery of the ball.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a bowling glove whichcan be used by bowlers with all of the different grips and styles ofdelivery.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a bowling glove inwhich provision is made for readily adjusting and varying theperformance of the glove to adapt it to different specific sizes ofbowlers hands and for different palm spans, as by providinginterchangeable inserts in a pocket in the glove thus enabling thebowler to obtain a permanent pad type of custom-fitted gloveparticularly adapted for his own requirements.

A further important obiect of the invention is to provide a bowlingglove which will strengthen and reinforce the hand of the bowler therebyreducing the strain of bowling without in any way impairing the accuracyof his delivery.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a bowling glovewhich shall be so constructed as to provide an elastic band sewn intothe glove at the wrist which will substantially completely encircle thewrist and with adequate support to the wrist to control bending andenabling the bowler to with greater facility obtain the proper deliveryof the ball.

Still another and very important object of the invention is to provide abowling glove which will enable the bowler to obtain a positive grip onthe bowling ball by the provision of a peg carried by the glove which isinsertable into a hole drilled in the ball.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a bowling glove whichby the provision of a rubber suction cup substituted for the positivegrip peg set forth in the Patented Mar. 10, 1964 preceding object willtrain the bowler in controlling the back swing or positive release ofthe ball.

A further and more specific object of the invention is to provide abowling glove in accordance with the foregoing objects wherein indiciaare provided upon the back of the glove to enable the bowler to betterdetermine visually the position of his hand and fingers upon the balland during his delivery.

And a final object of the invention to be specifically enumerated hereinresides in the provision of a bowling glove having interchangeablecompartments adjustable to adapt the glove to the individual hand foreffectively utilizing different grips and deliveries.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view in plan showing a bowling glove in accordance withthis invention positioned for proper use upon the right hand of thebowler and showing the palm surface of the glove;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view showing the back side of the glove shown inFIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a vertical transverse sectional View taken upon an enlargedscale substantially upon the plane indicated by section line 33 ofFIGURE 1 and showing certain structural details of the glove with itspositive grip for a bowling ball;

FIGURE 4 is an elevational view of a suction cup attachment which mayreplace the positive grip peg of FIGURE 3 for certain uses of the glove;

FIGURE 5 is a view in elevation showing the manner in which the deviceis employed by a bowler when gripping a ball for delivering the same;

FIGURE 6 is an exploded perspective view of the ad- 'justable padassembly forming an essential feature of the glove; and

FIGURE 7 is a view in vertical section through the bowling glove andshowing a still further construction of the same.

The bowling glove in accordance with this invention is an abbreviatedtype of glove consisting of palm and back sections it and 12 suit-ablysecured together as by scams or the like 14. These sections may be ofany suitable pliable material which will comfortably receive the hand ofthe bowler and permit freedom of flexing of his fingers. In someinstances, the palm and back sections may be of one-piece constructionsewn together by a single seam shown at 14, while in other instancesthey may consist of two separate sections seamed at both sides thereof.In any event, the glove has its thumb portion cutaway as at 16 in orderto permit full exposure of the bowlers thumb as shown in FIGURES l and2, and the finger-stalls 18 are all abbreviated and cut away tosubstantially completely expose the bowlers fingers providing merelyenough of the stalls to securely position the glove upon the bowlershand. However, the glove has a finger stall 29 for the little fingerwhich is complete and which preferably upon the front and back thereofis provided with non-slip gripping surfaces 22 and 24 for the purpose ofenabling the bowler to more firmly grip the ball with the glove. Thesegripping surfaces may be either a material having a substantialcoefficient of friction which is secured to the surfaces of the palm andback sections of the glove or may comprise specially treated areas ofthe surfaces of the finger stall 20. "In particular, it is convenient toprovide these surfaces of a separate piece of material such as rubber orthe like suitably bonded to the glove as by an adhesive or the like.

At the wrist portion of the glove there is provided a band 26 of asuitable elastic sheet material which is secured to the adjacent edgeportion of the gloove as by a seam 34) or the like and which thusencircles the wrist of the user in a resilient elastic manner to causethe glove to snugly accommodate itself to the users hand. Suitablefasteners such as snap fasteners 32 are secured to adjacent ends of theband 26 in order to permit quick attachrnent of the wrist band of theglove to the user and removal therefrom as well as to adjust thetightness of the fit of the wrist band upon the user. Obviously otherretaining means, such as wrist straps and the like would be employed itbeing desired to insure a firm, nonslipping but comfortably fittingengagement of the glove upon the bowlers hand.

Referring now particularly to FIGURE 2 it will be observed that the backsection 12 has a stiffening member 34 applied thereto. This stiffeningmember as shown in FIGURE 2 extends from the wrist band 26 down to thefingers of the glove or slightly short thereof and is disposed mediallyof the glove. It preferably has a substantially straight edge 36extending down one side thereof which is adapted to the little fingerside of the back section while an angulated V-shaped edge 38 is formedupon the opposite side of this portion. The two edges 33 and 36 arejoined by a straight edge 4%. The stiffener is either secured directlyto the back surface of the back section as by stitching, a suitableadhesive or the like; or may be secured in a cut-out portion of thecorresponding shape in the back section. In any event, the stiffener 34is preferably of an elastic or resilient material capable of a two-waystretch so as to cause the gloove to inherently tend to contract uponthe hand of the user and thus snugly fit the same and thus accommodatedifferent sizes of hands; and also to impart a reinforcing stiffness ortension across the back of the hand to thus stiffen the fingers of theuser in the delivery of a bowling ball.

Across the knuckle portion of the stiffener 34 there is secured anadditional layer of the elastic material extending, as shown in FIGURE2, from the transverse line 39 to the seam 4% to thereby provideincreased stiffness to stretching across the knuckles.

Positioned on the back section 12 are indicia arrows 41 and 43 orientedas shown to extend respectively longitudinally and obliquely to thestraightened wrist and hand of the bowler. These arrows afford a visualindication to the bowler as to the disposition of the hand and gripduring his delivery.

Referring now particularly to FIGURE 3, it will be seen that the palmsection has a piece of pliable material 50 secured thereto as bystitches 52 to form between the pieces of material and the palm sectionit) a pocket 54 in which is received a pad 56 comprising a palm piece,see FIGURE 6, of suitable material which may be either of rigidunyielding characteristics or may be of a cushioning and yielding natureif desired. This pad has one face 58 thereon contoured to fit the palmof the hand of the user as shown in FIGURE 3, while its opposite face 60is substantially planar. This pad is somewhat wedge shaped as will beapparent from FIG- URES 3 and 6 and this pad is provided with aninternally threaded bore 62 therein for a purpose to be subsequentlyapparent. Also receivable in the pocket 54 is a spacer or shim member 64of any suitable material whether rigid or yielding, and having parallelplane faces one of which is disposed upon the flat surface 6t) of thepalm piece. The spacer member 64 is of any desired thickness and is usedto adjust or build up the effective thickness of the pad 56 to thedesired dimension. The spacer or wedge member 64 likewise is providedwith a bore 66 of the same size as and alignable with the bore 62.

Finally, there is provided still another pad 70, com,- prising a facepiece, of a preferably rigid or non-yielding material likewise beingthreadedly apertured as at 72. The pad 70 is generally wedge shaped andhas a i fiat or plane surface 73 which is adapted to bear against thepiece of palm section it) which bears against the flat surface of thespacer member as, the pad 70 also having a somewhat concave surface '74which is adapted to conform to the contour of a bowling ball to moreeffectively grip and control the same. A further sheet of pliablematerial 76 may be secured to the ball gripping surface '74 of the pad70 and to the material of the palm section It) by the stitches 52.

By selecting the right thickness of spacer 64 the distance of the facepiece 70 from the palm of the hand can be varied to accommodatevariations in the span of the bowlers fingers as necessitated by the useof different grips.

As so far described, it will be seen that this construction enables thebowler to have a definite and/ or yieldable support in the palm of hishand conforming to the surface of the bowling ball to thus ef"ect a muchmore accurate and secure control and gripping of the same. The palmpiece, face piece and spacer are detachably secured together by afastener to be subsequently described.

In the case of beginners, it is often desirable to pro vide a positiveball engaging means. For this purpose there is provided a gripping pinor peg 36, see FIGURE 3, mounted on the palm section It) by means of anexternally threaded shank 52 which is engaged in the threaded bores 62and 72 of the pads 56 and '75 which are secured to the palm section asdescribed supra. This peg projects just sufficiently outwardly from thepalm of the glove and from the face 74 of the face piece '70 to enablethe bowler to insert this peg in a previously prepared bore in thesurface of the bowling ball, as suggested in FIGURE 5, in order tothereby obtain a positive control of the ball during the delivery of thesame.

In some instances, particularly with novices, it may be desired in orderto correct defects in the back-swing of the bowler to provide areplacement member for this purpose. Thus as shown in FIGURE 4 there isprovided a further insert member consisting of a suction cup 84 havingan externally threaded stem or shank 86 by means of which it may beinserted into the bores 62 and 72 in substitution for the positivegripping pin 80.

Expert bowlers may desire to dispense with the additional ball controlfeatures of the projecting pin or of the suction cup 34. For thatpurpose a threaded bolt terminating flush with the surface 74 of theface piece '7 0 may be employed. One of the three forms of fasteners isnecessary in order to retain the members 56, 64, and 70 securelytogether.

As shown in FIGURE 7 it may be desirable in some instances to provide apermanently secured pad for the bowling glove in place of the abovementioned adjustable construction. Thus, as shown in FIGURE 7 thepreviously mentioned cushioning pad 56 is disposed in the pocket whichis now formed by the sheet of material fit) upon the interior of thepalm section 16 and a pad 92 is permanently secured to the exterior ofthe palm section. This pad is of the desired thickness, and has a ballengaging surface 94 corresponding to the contour of the ball forgripping the same.

The form of the invention shown in FIGURES 1-6 is particularly useful inadapting a glove to beginners, while the form of FIGURE 7 isparticularly useful for experienced bowlers and those who wish apermanently fixed support. A very important advantage of this inventionis that it provides a means for enabling a bowler to repeat withmechanical exactness a desired grip and swing for his delivery of aball.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimeWhat is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A bowlers glove having palm and back sections joined together forreceiving the hand of a bowler therein, a full finger enclosing stallfor receiving the little finger, three partial finger stalls being of alength only sufl'lcient so as to retain the glove on the hand of abowler, and means secured to said palm section and projecting therefrom,said means having a concave surface adapted to conform to and engage abowling ball, said ball engaging means being provided with a threadedbore therein, and a peg, said peg having its inner end threadedlyreceived within said bore and its outer end projecting beyond said meansfor engagement in a bore in the surface of a ball.

2. In a bowling glove, a palm portion, a back portion, a wrist portionand fingers and thumb areas, and a wedge portion on the palm portion ofsaid glove; said wedge portion having a substantially straight frontedge, a substantially straight side edge extending longitudinally of theglove adjacent the thumb area of said glove, and extending substantiallyperpendicularly from the inner end of said front edge, and a rear edgeextending from the other end of said front edge to the rear end of saidside edge; said wedge portion decreasing in thickness as it extends fromsaid rear edge toward its front and side edges, and a peg attached tothe wedge portion projecting laterally therefrom for engagement of theouter end of the peg within the normally provided bore of a bowlingball.

3. In a bowling glove, a palm portion, a back portion, a wrist portionand fingers and thumb areas, and a wedge portion on the palm portion ofsaid glove; said wedge portion having a substantially straight frontedge, a substantially straight side edge extending longitudinally of theglove adjacent the thumb area of said glove, and extending substantiallyperpendicularly from the inner end of said front edge, and a rear edgeextending from the outer end of said front edge to the rear end of saidside edge; said wedge portion decreasing in thickness as it extends fromsaid rear edge toward its front and side edges, and a member attached tothe wedge portion projecting laterally therefrom, said member having asuction cup provided on its outer end for engaging the surface of abowling ball.

4. In a bowling glove, a palm portion, a back portion, a Wrist portionand fingers and thumb areas, and a wedge portion on the palm portion ofsaid glove; said wedge portion extending to a point forward of thelateral plane area of the thumb area and extending to a point closelyadjacent the finger areas of said glove, said wedge portion being in theform of 2. padding decreasing in thickness as it extends forwardly, anda peg attached to the wedge portion projecting laterally therefrom forengagement of the outer end of the peg Within the normally provided boreof a bowling ball.

5. The combination of claim 2 wherein said back portion has a stiffenerof an elastic sheet material secured thereto and positioned over a majorportion of the back portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS402,287 Tyrrell Apr. 30, 1889 2,258,999 Nunn Oct. 14, 1941 2,270,882Link Jan. 27, 1942 2,456,678 Cole Dec. 21, 1948 2,554,991 Kramer May 29,1951 2,738,190 Tureaud Mar. 13, 1956 2,837,745 Nelson June 10, 19582,975,429 Newman Mar. 21, 1961 3,031,680 Compiano May 1, 1962

1. A BOWLER''S GLOVE HAVING PALM AND BACK SECTIONS JOINED TOGETHER FORRECEIVING THE HAND OF A BOWLER THEREIN, A FULL FINGER ENCLOSING STALLFOR RECEIVING THE LITTLE FINGER, THREE PARTIAL FINGER STALLS BEING OF ALENGTH ONLY SUFFICIENT SO AS TO RETAIN THE GLOVE ON THE HAND OF ABOWLER, AND MEANS SECURED TO SAID PALM SECTION AND PROJECTING THEREFROM,SAID MEANS HAVING A CONCAVE SURFACE ADAPTED TO CONFORM TO AND ENGAGE ABOWLING BALL, SAID BALL ENGAGING MEANS BEING PROVIDED WITH A THREADEDBORE THEREIN, AND A PEG, SAID PEG HAVING ITS INNER END THREADEDLYRECEIVED WITHIN SAID BORE AND ITS OUTER END PROJECTING BEYOND SAID MEANSFOR ENGAGEMENT IN A BORE IN THE SURFACE OF A BALL.